Any Other cars Like Mk3 Jazz - Cheap To Run ,Practical & SUPER Reliable?

[wau5]

(From Other Brands)
When I say cheap to Run, I don't mean only fuel costs but also most importantly Maintenance/Repairs/Services/Upkeep etc. It doesn't have to be a budget car either, can be something nice as well.

I'm looking at probably around 7-10 year old cars with probably already around 100k miles -essentially where most of them already start to fall apart and become money pits wink

I Currently have a 2003 Honda Jazz that I have had for 15 years and 2012 Honda Jazz that I have had for 7 years, Looking to replace the older one with something else.

On both of them in all this time literary the only thing I have done is Change the Engine oil/Filters maybe once a year + brakes when they wear down - the older one has already 260k Miles on it and it still has plenty of life in it and still provides worry free motoring.

What I like about these:

-Petrol Engine with Chain instead of belt,which means no Diesel Problems, No DPF Problems, No expensive Timing belt replacements needed. Even tho it's petrol, it's still very efficient as well.

-Manual GearBox, simple, reliable no need for Expensive Automatic GearBox Oil Changes.

-Literary the Only Thing you need to do for a service is Change the Engine oil+ filters, takes me 10mins to do it myself and cost like £25 once a year for the Oil+filters.

-Just keeps going with no Faff and no real problems.

I kinda want something a bit more substantial and a bit more Posher than the Jazz. Driving it alone is ok, however when you have extra 3-4 people in it + driving on Motorway/over long distance it's not the most comfortable ride and it feels sluggish.

Budget isn't a problem & I'm OK Paying more initially for a better made car.

[Lord Voltermore]

I dont have a specific car to recommend  , but a few general thoughts.

The Jazz is about as large as it gets for a B segment 'small' car.  For a comparable replacement you might need to consider a much wider range of C segment' medium cars .

10 years or so ago  small 1.0 litre , sometimes 3 cylinder 'buzz box' engines became popular.  They may be efficient, but some claimed  frugal mpg  and performance figures that were not always achievable. And sometimes this engine was fitted to cars a bit too large for them. 
Whenever I  have regretted buying a car it has almost always been because the engine choice  was  not the  most powerful  available  for that car, and  not quite  adequate for my needs .  But the old American adage 'you caint beat cubes'  is not always true. I once  had a 1.2 litre 8 valve Clio. A slug on overtakes. A 1.2 Litre 16 valve would have been much better  .

Although engines can run well for many miles with adequate oil and filter changes   cars are becoming more complex. If anything goes wrong with electronics etc  you may find that a more common car will have cheaper spares , more  used parts available and a larger pool of on line advice  for any diy repairs. 

No car is perfect. Be careful not to get a distorted view of a cars reliability when researching on line.  The more common the car  the  more owners might report faults.  etc,    I have noticed with newer cars the complaints are often more to do about  the dealerships  customer care/ warranty attitude . Buyers of some cars  seemingly happy to tolerate their  numerous faults  and give rave reviews  ,  because they were  fixed quickly without quibble under warranty.     

[2robbie2]

Hi - with the age, mileage and reliability parameters you have given, aside from a Mark 3 Jazz, the only cars I would consider are a Toyota C-HR, Toyota RAV4, Lexus UX, Honda HRV, Suzuki Jimny (Mark 4 model from 2018 onwards) and Suzuki Vitara.

If you want to avoid proper self charging hybrids, then you will be mainly restricted to the Suzuki Jimny (1.5 naturally aspirated petrol engine with timing chain) and Vitara (1.4 Boosterjet mild hybrid or 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol engines with timing chains) - both have an excellent reliability record. The Jimny is shorter than the Jazz whilst the Vitara is a bit more substantial (although mostly in terms of height - see measurements below). The Jimny is now seen by many as a very desirable/trendy car and is quite expensive, whilst the Vitara only costs a bit more than a Mark 3 Jazz.

Jazz Mark 3 length:- 4.028m
Jazz Mark 3 width (excluding mirrors):- 1.694m

Vitara length:- 4.175m
Vitara width (excluding mirrors):- 1.775m

[Lord Voltermore]

I liked my Yaris, but that was a 1.4 diesel, with very good torque and performance . I hired a petrol Yaris on holiday (1.0 probably) and didnt like it at all.     While  Yaris and Jazz are direct competitors the Yaris is significantly smaller inside, and you might want to go up a size. 2robbie2's recommendations are good ones.

I took the following photo from the  back of an open Maruti built  Suzuki  gypsy, which is similar in size and mechanically to a Jimny . The bar in the bottom left corner is the vehicles roll bar.   It brings a new perspective to the need for reliability.    My only reservation  is  the Jimny  may not be ideal for high speed  use on normal UK roads.  I also travelled as passenger many miles in a Suzuki Swift on normal Indian roads(which vary from surprisingly good to   absolutely dreadful) This could also be a possible contender.   Appeared quite solid  but maybe a bit spartan on the interior.  (but may be better on UK spec cars)  Locally built Suzuki and Toyota are very common in India. You dont often see a Honda car  .  .

[fatlad]

(From Other Brands)
When I say cheap to Run, I don't mean only fuel costs but also most importantly Maintenance/Repairs/Services/Upkeep etc. It doesn't have to be a budget car either, can be something nice as well.

I'm looking at probably around 7-10 year old cars with probably already around 100k miles -essentially where most of them already start to fall apart and become money pits wink

I Currently have a 2003 Honda Jazz that I have had for 15 years and 2012 Honda Jazz that I have had for 7 years, Looking to replace the older one with something else.

On both of them in all this time literary the only thing I have done is Change the Engine oil/Filters maybe once a year + brakes when they wear down - the older one has already 260k Miles on it and it still has plenty of life in it and still provides worry free motoring.

What I like about these:

-Petrol Engine with Chain instead of belt,which means no Diesel Problems, No DPF Problems, No expensive Timing belt replacements needed. Even tho it's petrol, it's still very efficient as well.

-Manual GearBox, simple, reliable no need for Expensive Automatic GearBox Oil Changes.

-Literary the Only Thing you need to do for a service is Change the Engine oil+ filters, takes me 10mins to do it myself and cost like £25 once a year for the Oil+filters.

-Just keeps going with no Faff and no real problems.

I kinda want something a bit more substantial and a bit more Posher than the Jazz. Driving it alone is ok, however when you have extra 3-4 people in it + driving on Motorway/over long distance it's not the most comfortable ride and it feels sluggish.

Budget isn't a problem & I'm OK Paying more initially for a better made car.

i cant beleive you've asked this!! jazz is THE car to have!! haha

[Marco1979]

It sounds to me like you need a Jazz Dynamic (that is the name Honda uses in NL): the 1.5 130hp version of the mk3. It has changed suspension for better handling and cornering, is way faster than the 1.3 and has a more posh front design too!

[TnTkr]

I have had Jazz Dynamic for six years now. I do confirm, that 1.5-liter 130 hp engine makes the difference in performance compared to 1.3. But honestly I'm not so fond of the suspension which is stiff in smaller bumps but lacks progressiveness and has pretty short wheel travel.